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What’s the one weird tip to avoid getting killed by Facebook’s algorithms?

Don’t write headlines like that.

Earlier this week, there was a lot of speculation that Upworthy’s traffic tanked in December because Facebook tweaked its News Feed algorithm. Indeed, those purveyors of “You-Won’t-Believe-What-Happened-Next” click bait at Upworthy saw a 46 percent decline in page views since Facebook began to prioritize what it calls “high quality content.” (Upworthy’s not exactly the Paris Review.)

According to Jim Bankoff, chairman and CEO of Vox Media, the best strategy is to keep your head down and produce quality stuff. “We try to keep things simple,” he said. “You produce great content and it’s in (Facebook’s) best interests to embrace it.”

This runs counter to the old school ideas of “hacking” growth by focusing heavily on search engine optimization or social optimization, ideas that drove the growth of media companies like Bleacher Report and Upworthy. If ever there were a company that constantly evolves it’s Facebook, tweaking its algorithm to “better serve” its users and advertisers. What works today may not work tomorrow.

Of course, Bankoff also thinks about how to distribute content over the social media airwaves, which is secondary to the content. “We partner with (Facebook) and Twitter and think about the right way to grow our traffic. But it starts with the quality of the experience, and from there we think about distribution.”

While many of the last wave of successful content companies came armed with clickable headline templates and tailored their stories thusly, Vox does the reverse. It’s also turned that strategy into real profits. For the sake of readers (and the journalists who produce these stories), hopefully this becomes a new, more lasting normal for media companies.

David Holmes is the head of social media and experimental journalism for PandoDaily. He is also the co-founder of Explainer Music, a production company specializing in journalistic music videos. His work has appeared at FastCompany.com, ProPublica, the Guardian, the Daily Dot, NewYorker.com, and Grist.